


The song of the siren

by Angelicasdean



Series: Arthur Morgan's peculiar meetings with the supernatural [1]
Category: Red Dead Redemption (Video Games)
Genre: 9 year old young, Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Alternate Universe - Supernatural Elements, Author Is Sleep Deprived, Backstory, Like Very Young, Sirens, Supernatural Elements, Young Arthur Morgan, once again im saying:
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-08
Updated: 2020-05-08
Packaged: 2021-03-02 23:27:04
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,019
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24065041
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Angelicasdean/pseuds/Angelicasdean
Summary: The sound echoes through his chest before he actually heard it, ears nearly perking up as sweet-sounding hums drew him from his playtime. At the back of his mind, he knew this was probably a bad idea.
Series: Arthur Morgan's peculiar meetings with the supernatural [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1736155
Comments: 1
Kudos: 30





	The song of the siren

There isn’t a lot of things Arthur hates in life, hate is a strong emotion to hold.

He can safely say he hates lakes though.

It might’ve been the warnings his mother used to coo to him as a child since they lived ever so close to a large lake when he was a child. Or perhaps it had been the stern clasp on Arthur’s shoulder that held him in place while he watched his childhood dog run off into the night, towards the sickly-sweet music echoing through the woods.

Water demons, his father used to call them, sirens that beck to your death. Drag you into the water and never let go. Some say they sing your greatest desire; his father says they cry out with familiar voices. Then they snatch you and reveal their true face. Once you see their face, your fate is sealed, for no one has ever survived looking a siren in the face.

Arthur was only nine when he disobeyed his father’s one rule, straying towards the lake where his mom had disappeared only a few months ago.

He was out, playing by the edge of the forest with twigs and leaves, trying to build a bird’s nest as his father worked. He was alone, and so he had no restraints.

The sound echoes through his chest before he actually heard it, ears nearly perking up as sweet-sounding hums drew him from his playtime. At the back of his mind, he knew this was probably a bad idea, but the hums turned into his name, softly sang, and making his chest feel warm. Inviting.

Bird’s nest abandoned, Arthur gave on look back towards his mother’s horse, who had given him a piercing look. His father would never have to know he was away, Arthur tells himself, it’s just a few minutes.

He just wants to know where the music’s coming from, and how is it bouncing behind his skull.

The lake was still frozen, seeing as a winter storm had just passed through, though the ground thawed fairly quick.

Arthur pauses when he hears the singing again, this time with words he doesn’t recognize. Yet still, his limbs seem to itch to get closer, and who is he to deny them?

The lake is slippery as he walks across it, the hums returning, and he lets out a tiny surprised sound as a large shadow swims underneath him, bigger than anything he had seen before and expertly, with a type of grace he would never know, twisting deeper into the lake.

He stares at where it once was, curious as to what it is. How it looks, his father never told him how sirens look, just that they are to be feared. Arthur bends to look at the ice, cold nipping at his nose and cheeks as he wipes away the frost to try and catch another glimpse.

His heart nearly stops when a large tail comes up to hit the ice from underneath him, he scrambles back, slipping and trying to pull himself away from where the creature had been. Illusion now broken, fear now seated deep inside him, he lets out a scared yelp when the ground began to uneven underneath him.

The ice gave a thunderous crack underneath him, and he couldn’t help but glance helplessly at the soft snow that signaled ground, too far away for him to jump it. His mind spins one final thought, his foot coming up to test if he can walk; only to feel the ice crack one last time under him, and his shin doses in water. _Pa was right_ he should’ve never gone out to the lake. He should’ve never listened to the echoing hum of sweet warm voices calling for him, the resonance had betrayed him. All he can feel is cold, bitter cold that stings his skin and makes his fingers clench up.

He can see the figures elegantly dancing above him, dealing up the ice until another victim falls. He stares as the air in his lungs dwindles, and he wonders what his father would think. He should’ve never left home, his father had warned him, his momma too.

Smooth skin slides over his knuckles, and Arthur moves stiffly to look at the creature beside him, hair swimming long over her head, sweet lilac eyes soft, despite the cracks in her skin revealing her true face. He can see the scales underneath, can see the malformed face structure. She opens her mouth, pulling Arthur in and sealing them together with a kiss.

Air fills his lungs once more, and Arthur blinks in surprise when the creature pulls him up again, towards the surface where another one is waiting. He wants to ask, his curiosity beating his fear and his pain, but he doesn’t get to.

The creature, this one with bright green eyes, pitch-black hair framing her face, beats the ice above with its tail, and the sound of fracturing makes the water vibrate.

 _Young one, now, listen to me._ The creature sings to him, _you’re far too naïve to be taken. You’re far too frail to be broken. Don’t come back, young one, for fear that a worse fate will meet you._ She says, soft eyes leaning down towards him, her hand comes up to his cheek, and Arthur is surprised by how warm it is. _I love you, my son, my boy._

Arthur doesn’t get a chance to think, nevertheless reach forward to the creature, the creature that was his mother. His arm his forcefully pulled above his head, and he finds himself launched up, up until his fingers touched the ice.

_Go now, my child. Don’t let us tempt you._

Her tail pushes his numb feet upwards, and cold air burns his skin as he resurfaces, fingers clutching ice, pulling himself out of the water. He stayed there until his father found him, curled up and half-frozen to death. 

That was the last time he saw her or _any_ siren for that matter. He still remembers it vividly, though.

He thinks about it nearly every day. 


End file.
